NFL senior vice president of officiating Dean Blandino during the NFL Annual Meetings at the Biltmore Resort. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Dean Blandino says NFL officials made one big mistake in Vikings-Bills game

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated 11/13/22

The Buffalo Bills caught a huge break near the end of regulation in their game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

The Bills were trailing 30-27 when they began a drive with just 41 seconds left in the fourth quarter. They quickly got into field goal range and were able to send the game to overtime, but not without a little help from the officials. Josh Allen completed a 20-yard pass to Gabriel Davis at the Minnesota 40. It initially looked like Davis got his hands under the ball, but replays showed that it hit the ground.

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Buffalo quickly rushed to the line of scrimmage and got another play off. Since there were only 17 seconds remaining in the game, the replay booth should have stopped the game. They did not, which FOX rules analyst Dean Blandino says was a mistake.

“That has to come from the replay booth, and this is too big a play not to stop,” Blandino said during the broadcast. “Davis is going to the ground. He does get his knees down inbounds. But he doesn’t maintain control. The ball hits the ground, comes loose. That’s an incomplete pass.”

Had the play been reviewed, it likely would have been ruled incomplete. That would have left the Bills with 3rd-and-2 at their own 40 and just 17 seconds remaining. Instead, they moved the ball all the way to the 11 and converted the chip shot field goal to tie the game at 30-30 and send it to OT.

The Bills probably should have won in regulation, but a wild sequence at the goal line kept the Vikings alive.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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